“Before we made the decision to go, we talked to several Danes who live in Qatar. All spoke very positively about the country and the population. Also, we spent a week in July in Qatar to get an idea of it all. My wife agreed with me that is was the perfect time to go, especially since our children are only 6 and 2 years old,” says Jesper Hass Rasmussen and continues:
“Of course it is important that everyone really wants to go. The desire to experience something new simply must be there to make it work.”
New challenges in a foreign culture
Part of moving to a foreign culture is to experience new ways of doing things. For example, in order to get permission to work at all in Qatar, a “sponsor” is needed for all non-locals. Ramboll sponsors Jesper and his family during their stay.
“One of the things I’ve learnt so far is that that everything takes time and to adjust to a completely different pace. ‘Welcome to the Middle East’ is a typical answer from other expats,” he says.
Longer work hours – and more free time
Overall Jesper and his family are very positive about Qatar and their new life in the Middle East. During the first month they have spent a lot of time on exploring the country and getting to know their new base – far from home.
“Even though I work a bit more than back in Denmark, as a family we have much more time together. We don’t have to worry about housekeeping and babysitting here because we have a maid and my wife doesn’t work. We can just spend real quality time together and enjoy our Ramboll adventure,” Jesper Hass Rasmussen ends.